Vojtkovská Veronika, Voslářová Eva, Večerek Vladimír
Department of Animal Protection and Welfare and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic.
Vet Anim Sci. 2024 Jul 17;25:100379. doi: 10.1016/j.vas.2024.100379. eCollection 2024 Sep.
Awareness of the causes of mortality in shelter cats can contribute to its effective reduction. The aim of this study was to investigate the causes of mortality in cat shelters in the Czech Republic, taking into account the age of the animals and their length of stay in the shelter facilities until natural death or euthanasia. A cooperation with two private no-kill shelters in the Czech Republic was established. The subject of the study were records of 3047 cats admitted to the selected shelters in the period from 2013 to 2023. A total of 357 (11.7 %) out of 3047 cats died or had to be euthanized in two monitored shelters. No significant difference ( > 0.05) in the cat mortality was found between the two shelters (11.5 % and 12 %). The median length of stay of cats in the shelter until death or euthanasia was 23 days. The highest mortality was recorded in the youngest cats (≤ 6 months). The most common causes of death or euthanasia of cats in both shelters were feline infectious peritonitis (21.6 %), panleukopenia (18.5 %) and upper and lower respiratory tract infections (17.5 %). Adult and older cats were significantly ( < 0.05) more prone to death due to renal failure and cancer than young animals and kittens. The results of the study contribute to the knowledge on the health of cat population in shelters in the Czech Republic and can serve as a basis for further work that will target mortality reduction strategies in at-risk categories.
了解收容所猫的死亡原因有助于有效降低死亡率。本研究的目的是调查捷克共和国猫收容所的死亡原因，同时考虑动物的年龄及其在收容设施中直至自然死亡或安乐死的停留时间。与捷克共和国的两家私人无杀戮收容所建立了合作关系。研究对象是2013年至2023年期间进入选定收容所的3047只猫的记录。在两家受监测的收容所中，3047只猫中有357只（11.7%）死亡或不得不被安乐死。两家收容所之间的猫死亡率没有显著差异（>0.05）（分别为11.5%和12%）。猫在收容所直至死亡或安乐死的中位停留时间为23天。最年轻的猫（≤6个月）死亡率最高。两家收容所中猫死亡或安乐死的最常见原因是猫传染性腹膜炎（21.6%）、猫泛白细胞减少症（18.5%）以及上呼吸道和下呼吸道感染（17.5%）。成年猫和老年猫因肾衰竭和癌症死亡的可能性明显（<0.05）高于幼猫和小猫。该研究结果有助于了解捷克共和国收容所猫群的健康状况，并可为进一步针对高危类别降低死亡率策略的工作提供基础。
